AW: How can we foster sustainable outcomes?
Peggy Holman
peggy at opencirclecompany.com
Sun Jun 28 10:59:29 PDT 2009
Reinhard,
As note taking has moved away from flip charts to computers, I often
ask participants to come back with one flip chart that has words or an
image from their session for the news wall. Sometimes I've put the
event theme on a blank mural for people to draw on as they come back
from sessions. Both bring in visual reports.
One of my favorite images was drawn by a journalist in a session on
what should curriculum be today:
http://journalismthatmatters.com/node/235
Peggy
______________________________
Peggy Holman
The Open Circle Company
15347 SE 49th Place
Bellevue, WA 98006
425-746-6274
www.opencirclecompany.com
www.journalismthatmatters.org
For the new edition of The Change Handbook, go to:
www.bkconnection.com/ChangeHandbook
"An angel told me that the only way to step into the fire and not get
burnt, is to become
the fire".
-- Drew Dellinger
On Jun 26, 2009, at 10:00 PM, Reinhard Kuchenmueller wrote:
> Dear Catherine,
>
> it seems t get a dialogue between you and me - and Harrison
> defending his turf - while all the others are busy discussing Paris
> Stammtisch and some problems of dogma and exegesis in the holy
> principles.
>
> My focus lies on the os meeting. My heart belongs to the
> paricipating people, my head to the client behind everything. In a
> meeting of lets say 200 participants everybody can choose between
> lets say ten group themes in every time slot. If it goes for two
> days, with five time slots, that makes 50 groups of which the
> everage participant chooses five groups. All the other groups, their
> themes, their surprising developments, their exitement, their
> outcome, does not exist for him. All the groups make some protocols,
> but in the worst possible way, in handwriting, and some typed short
> version. Our everage participant does rarely read the outcomes of
> other groups. The facilitator made himself invisible and is of
> little help. So his horizon is built from 10 percent of the whole
> meeting. He goes home with a beautiful experience of team building
> and self organisation, and some memeory of 10 percent of the
> meeting. The client goes home with some written excerpts, and if he
> is lucky !
> he will be confronted with some ideas afterwards, of people who want
> to ontinue their threads. Who is helping him to build the bridge
> between his basic theme, his exspectations, and the outcome? The
> facilitator? By which means?
>
> I would wish all the os people could take part just once in a
> visualized os event. Some witnesses, fair minded, impartial, are
> moving from group to group, gathering process, results and
> atmosphere on small picture cards. Nobody is noticing them. They put
> these picture cards into a big picture wall, all the time, so that
> everybody who passes can get all the procedures in some seconds
> time. And in the evening all the picture cards, digitalized in the
> meantime, are shown to the plenum as a slide show with some music,
> for about 10 minutes The participants not only increase the memory
> of their own group from 20 to 60 percent, as scientists can proove,
> but at the same time they get an overview about the whole big theme
> in all its complexity. As if they can suddenly see the whole tree,
> of which they were busy handling some branches so far. I experienced
> a deep satisfaction among the participants every time we did that
> work. Of course all that is against the old os dogma, but that d!
> oes not bother the people at all.
>
> And the client? He gets a detailled insight into all the groups. The
> little images can be used in many ways to foster sustainable
> outcomes, as you say. They can be clustered, regrouped, with
> atonishing results, showing what people really said and mean.They
> can be used as material to work with in smaller groups who continue
> with some items, they can be put into the intranet, printed as
> leaflets, little books, calendars, posters, hang in the
> corridors ... As means to take the results really seriously.
>
> AND NOW THE BIG QUESTION: is that worth the extra costs of extra
> people, who visualize the event? Some clients say yes, it is. It
> makes the difference between a beautiful experience of self
> orgsnization and the welding of a tool for the organization.
>
> I myself would not propose to visualize every os meeting by external
> visualizers. I would like very much to experiment with internal
> visualization. We developed different ways of visualizing by
> participants. Once we made 800 union people in vienna draw in little
> groups, 72 images, with an amazing result.
>
> I can imagine, that in every os group two or three people start to
> doodle, to draw what they experience, on little cards. A bit like
> world cafe (I propose to the world cafe people to use little cards
> as well). And then like said before, the cards can be hung into the
> picture wall, group by geoup, and shown in the evening as slide
> show. I would very much like to develop this method and to make it
> available to the whole os community.
>
>
> mit freundlichen Grüßen
> best regards
>
> Reinhard Kuchenmüller
>
> VISUELLE PROTOKOLLE
>
> tel. +39-0566 88929
> www.visuelle-protokolle.de
> ________________________________________
> Von: Catherine Pfaehler [c.pfaehler at bluewin.ch]
> Gesendet: Donnerstag, 25. Juni 2009 17:15
> An: Reinhard Kuchenmueller
> Cc: 'OSLIST'
> Betreff: How can we foster sustainable outcomes?
>
> Dear Reinhard
>
> You have a very interesting point there. I have often wondered how the
> sustainable implementation of visible results can be fostered
> "better" by
> me, as in the post-OS-meeting, I often find my clients to focus on
> different
> things than what I would have expected.
>
> Then, again, on the other side, I am well aware that a most
> important side
> result of an OS event is always teambuilding, communication and a
> stronger
> commitment to their organisation by many participants. And if I
> succeed in
> allowing the client to really be responsible for what happens with the
> results, then I need to let go after having asked the evaluation
> questions
> and some others like "Does anything need a vessel for coordination
> now?" and
> "What has been developing since the OS event?".
>
> Other opinions??
>
> Heartfully, C.
>
> Catherine Pfaehler Senn
> lic.oec.HSG
> Open Space Begleitung
> St. Alban-Vorstadt 15
> CH - 4052 Basel
> +41-(0)76 - 488 15 46
> c.pfaehler at open-space-begleitung.ch
> www.open-space-begleitung.ch
>
>
>
> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: Reinhard Kuchenmueller [mailto:mail at visuelle-protokolle.de]
> Gesendet: Montag, 22. Juni 2009 19:12
> Betreff: AW: [OSLIST] Anti Laws of OST - Foundations of OST?
>
> my two cents:
>
> a principle is defined as a law superordinated to every other law.
> Condition: A certain effect can always be retraced to the same
> constellation
> of facts. (wikipedia).
>
> In this sense Harrison's principles are definitively no principles
> at all.
> But he was really clever: two martinis and four mundane sentences -
> and the
> whole world is repeating them like a mantra. Mantras, as the east
> knows
> since thousands of years, don't have to have a meaning, the essence
> lies
> behind them. It only gets painful, if you start to worship the mantras
> instead of the essence.
>
> Why is open space so effective? Certainly not because of the
> mantras. As I
> see it, we have to dig deeper:
>
> I could think of principles like:
>
> People are basically interested - to engage themselves
> - to take responsibility
> - to interlink themselves
>
> That happens as soon as one stops to treat people like obstinate
> mules.
>
> And there exist conditions, which foster that, which support this so
> called
> self organisation.
>
> Certainly open space technology, as it is practised worldwide, is an
> excellent condition for self organisation.
>
> And your 'foundations' define it well.
>
> Rather often a client spends money for an open space event, and for
> the
> facilitator who proposes open space as a tool for the clients'
> purposes.
> This aspect seems to be underestimated in the debate.
>
> In my view the facilitator is responsible to link the proposed and
> choosen
> form of the event, in our case open space, with the system and the
> purpose
> of the client. What the client pays for is not the self organisation
> of his
> people, that is only a beautiful side effect, and a bridge to engage
> people
> in the affairs of the client - and more often simultaneously in
> their own
> working conditions.
>
> I cannot understand the disinterest of many open space facilitators
> towards
> the outcome and its linkage with the system of the client.
>
> That, in my eyes, is also the reason for the disinterest towards
> optimal
> forms of recording the outcome - and as a visual facilitator I of
> course
> propagate a visual form of protocol.
>
> The discussions in the os list are mainly conducted with the back to
> the
> clients, and that is a pity.
>
>
>
>
>
> mit freundlichen Grüßen
> best regards
>
> Reinhard Kuchenmüller
>
> VISUELLE PROTOKOLLE
>
> tel. +39-0566 88929
> www.visuelle-protokolle.de
> ________________________________________
> Von: OSLIST [OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] im Auftrag von Artur
> Silva
> [arturfsilva at YAHOO.COM]
> Gesendet: Sonntag, 21. Juni 2009 18:25
> An: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Betreff: Re: [OSLIST] Anti Laws of OST - Foundations of OST?
>
> Larry:
>
> I am sorry but only today I had the time to answer you.
>
> We certainly need foundations or principles to Open Space.
>
> But I prefer the word "foundations" instead of "principles" because,
> due to
> the man of the hat, this word is connected forever (only) with "the 4
> principles". And I think that that there are other principles
> (foundations)
> as important as, or even more important than, the 4 so called
> principles.
>
> Indeed I think (sorry Harrison) that the expression "The 4
> principles" was
> badly chosen.
>
> Because it they are "what always happens" they are not principles at
> all.
> And because we think that we must state the principles in the
> beginning of
> every session (I myself to that the majority o the times - but not
> always")
> and I am more and more convinced that they are useless. You can
> state them
> or nor, and the same things will occur. They are probably "one less
> thing to
> do/state".
>
> But there are other principles or foundations that are essential, in
> the
> sense that if they are not present different things will happen.
>
> In the discussion I opened in our wiki some years ago I proposed the
> following:
>
> 3. I would suggest, as HO wrote in the old User’s Guide, that OST
> begins
> with:
>
> * A THEME that is compelling enough, but also general and open
> enough to
> let people dream about and
> * A GROUP OF COMMITED PEOPLE (reason for the presences to be almost
> always voluntary)
> * Enough DIVERSITY in the group
> 4. To those foundations one can add others that are generally
> accepted by
> all practitioners:
>
> * The CIRCLE (even if, in some cases, some argue that a "virtual
> circle"
> will do)
> * The Bulletin Board
> * The Market Place
> * The "law of two feet" (one of the most, if not the most important
> feature, from where butterflies and bumblebees "germinate" and many
> conflicts "evaporate")
> * The "four principles" (as I have promised ;-)
>
> (http://www.openspaceworld.org/cgi/netwiki.cgi?FoundationsofOST)
>
> If I were to rewrite this today, I would surely suppress the last
> line. But
> all the other "foundations" (including the law of two feet) are
> essential.
> If you suppress one of them you will have a meeting; but not, IMHO,
> an OST
> meeting. But we may not talk at all about the "4 principles" and
> everything
> will happen as usual.
>
> Best regrsds to all
>
> Artur
>
>
>
>
> --- On Thu, 5/28/09, Larry Peterson <larry at spiritedorg.com> wrote:
>
> From: Larry Peterson <larry at spiritedorg.com>
> Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Anti Laws of OST - Foundations of OST?
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Date: Thursday, May 28, 2009, 5:22 PM
>
> Maybe a “foundation” is another word for how I often describe the
> “principles”. I encourage people, when I open a space, to make some
> assumptions about the gathering to assume what are stated as
> principles and
> to act on that basis during the event. I think these only become
> “assumed”
> after some evolution of consciousness and I don’t experience most
> folks in
> organizations being there. I think it is important to articulate
> them, to
> influence the “social construction” of the boundaries of the OST
> event along
> with the most important part – the focus question or theme. Yep, it
> may be
> a bit of ritualized behaviour but I think it helps increase the
> possibilities what will emerge in the self-organizing process that
> will
> happen anyway. Besides, I (we as facilitators) are one of the
> “selves” in
> the self-organization.
>
> Larry
>
>
> Larry Peterson & Associates in Transformation
> Toronto, Ontario, Canada
> larry at spiritedorg.com<http://us.mc546.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=larry@spi
> ritedorg.com> 416.653.4829
> http://www.spiritedorg.com<http://www.spiritedorg.com/>
>
>
>
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Artur
> Silva
> Sent: May-27-09 5:54 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Anti Laws of OST - Foundations of OST?
>
> Harrison, Larry and all:
>
> I am afraid that I continue to read only the messages from this list
> from
> time to time...
>
> Today, I read this answer from Harrison to a reply from Larry to an
> original
> comment by Harrison. The 3 messages referred are listed below, and I
> ask you
> to first read the parts of those messages that I have transformed in
> bold.
>
> (...) Thanks for having done that ;-)
>
> Now, I am happy that Harrison agrees that "the 4 principles and one
> law are
> neither laws nor principles actually" and that there will come a day
> when
> The Law and The Principles can be assigned to that wonderful status
> of “One
> more thing not to do.”
>
> But Larry commented, very wisely as usual, about the importance of
> some form
> of “boundaries” or “container” for self-organization.
>
> So, maybe it is the appropriate time to reintroduce a discussion
> that I have
> tried to introduce many moons ago, about what are the foundations of
> OST.
>
> I mean,
>
> 1) if the principles are not "principles" after all, but only what
> always
> happens, and eventually even "one more thing not to do" (and I
> remember you
> that I have done some OST experiments without reference to the
> Principles -
> and all went well as usual), but
>
> 2) Some form of boundary or container is needed
>
> where this boundary or container does comes from?
>
> I have proposed to call that the "foundations" (not principles) of
> OST and
> proposed some ideas (that are only preliminary ideas) I would like
> to read
> (again) your opinions about.
>
> You can found my (preliminary) proposals, of some time ago, here
> http://www.openspaceworld.org/cgi/netwiki.cgi?FoundationsofOST
>
> and here
>
> http://listserv.boisestate.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0401&L=oslist&P=R23925&I=-3&
> X=6543D44B5D0A7C3BC4&Y=arturfsilva%40yahoo.com.
>
> Looking forward to hear from you all
>
> Warn regards from a warm night in Lisbon
>
> Artur
>
> ------
>
>
>
> --- On Wed, 5/27/09, Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> From: Harrison Owen <hhowen at verizon.net>
> Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Anti Laws of OST
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Date: Wednesday, May 27, 2009, 7:23 AM
> Right on Larry – and I found a very curious and embarrassing typo in
> my
> small piece. I said, “They (the Principles and the Law) are
> descriptive as
> opposed to descriptive.” I meant to say,”They are descriptive as
> opposed to
> prescriptive.” Point is neither the Law nor the Principles tell you
> what to
> do – they simply alert everybody to what will be taking place no
> matter
> what. I think that is a useful function, but it really doesn’t
> change a
> thing. In short – there will come a day when The Law and The
> Principles can
> be assigned to that wonderful status of “One more thing not to do.”
>
> Harrison
>
>
> Harrison Owen
>
> 7808 River Falls Drive
>
> Potomac, Maryland 20854
>
> Phone 301-365-2093
>
> Skype hhowen
>
> Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com<http://www.openspaceworld.com/
> >
>
> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org<http://www.openspaceworld.org/
> >
>
> Personal website www.ho-image.com<http://www.ho-image.com/>
>
> OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
> archives
> Visit:
> www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html<http://listserv.boisestate
> .
> edu/archives/oslist.html>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Larry
> Peterson
> Sent: Wednesday, May 27, 2009 9:44 AM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: Anti Laws of OST
>
> For me, there is more sense in the “Principles and Law” than non-
> sense.
> Stewart Kauffman explores the importance of some form of
> “boundaries” or
> “container” for self-organization, particularly that of cells. He
> believes
> (with strong scientific evidence) that real physical work only gets
> done
> within some “boundaries” or it dissipates. Cells, he asserts, co-
> create
> their “boundaries” with their environment through self-organizing
> relationships in every moment. The boundaries are permeable,
> constructs,
> open to interchange with their environment. (No such thing as a closed
> system!)
>
> Harrison, I believe you have articulated a set of socially constructed
> permeable “boundaries” for enhancing human self-organization –
> including the
> focus/theme, principles and law. These set a temporary set of
> “boundaries”
> or a “container” both focused and open that change the perceived
> conditions
> for self-organization at an event or meeting. Self-organization is
> happening all the time, in every moment. Our mental maps (in
> practice) and
> feelings shape what we do as we self-organize – what topics we
> propose and
> who we connect to. Are they necessary for self-organization (Open
> Space) –
> no, it is happening all the time as order emerges. Do they (or other
> similar statements about the social framework for our self-
> organizing) help
> people to self-organize in exciting and creative ways? I think so.
>
> Larry
>
>
> Larry Peterson & Associates in Transformation
> Toronto, Ontario, Canada
> larry at spiritedorg.com<http://us.mc546.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=larry@spi
> ritedorg.com> 416.653.4829
> http://www.spiritedorg.com<http://www.spiritedorg.com/>
>
>
>
> From: OSLIST [mailto:OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU] On Behalf Of
> Harrison
> Owen
> Sent: May-25-09 2:59 PM
> To: OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
> Subject: Re: [OSLIST] Anti Laws of OST
>
> Just to render the whole thing non-sensical, the 4 principles and
> one law
> are neither laws nor principles actually. To be honest they are just
> my (and
> others’) observations of what seemed to be happening in any case. In
> a word
> they are descriptive as opposed to descriptive – You could say it is
> all a
> joke. Rather like “technology” in the phrase Open Space Technology.
> The
> joke, however turned out to be outrageously funny – because somehow or
> another truth broke through. We are in serious trouble! Everybody
> knows that
> what happens in Open Space simply can’t happen. Unfortunately it
> does – and
> that makes a joke out of a whole mess of other stuff – like most of
> what we
> think we know about meetings, the management of meetings, and
> management
> itself. Double trouble!!
>
> Harrison
>
>
> Harrison Owen
>
> 7808 River Falls Drive
>
> Potomac, Maryland 20854
>
> Phone 301-365-2093
>
> Skype hhowen
>
> Open Space Training www.openspaceworld.com<http://www.openspaceworld.com/
> >
>
> Open Space Institute www.openspaceworld.org<http://www.openspaceworld.org/
> >
>
> Personal website www.ho-image.com<http://www.ho-image.com/>
>
> OSLIST: To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the
> archives
> Visit:
> www.listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html<http://listserv.boisestate
> .
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>
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>
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